From eighth grade to my senior year of high school, I attended an all-girls private Catholic school. My graduating class consisted of less than 45 girls. When I tell people this, they look at me like I have six heads and ask one of two questions; “Was there a lot of drama?” or “Did you hate it?” The answer to both is no.
The Academy of the Holy Names educated me, sure, but more importantly, it provided me with a sisterhood. The idea of this sisterhood is essential to me. When I was looking for colleges in the fall of 2021, finding a school where I could establish a sisterhood was vital. I toured over 20 schools, initially believing Greek life was the most crucial aspect of a university and the easiest way to find a community I would feel included in. Then, I toured St. Bonaventure.
I was immediately attracted to the small size of the school and the beauty of the brick and ivy, even in the brutal cold of an average Western New York winter. As if the tour couldn’t get any better, I ran into a friend a year above me at Holy Names who now attends SBU. We caught up quickly, and she invited me to attend the men’s basketball game against University at Buffalo later that day and stay the night with her and her friends. Just hours later, I was standing in the student section, cheering the team on right next to her. It sounds dramatic, but at that moment, I knew Bonnies was where I had to spend the next four years of my life.
Fast-forward through the rest of my senior year and summer, I found myself moving in the last of my things and saying goodbye to my family, dogs, and the good old city of Albany. I immediately connected with my roommate, but that was it. I’ve never felt more awkward in my entire life. I met up with a few girls I’d met at orientation, but I started to become unsure if Bonnies was the place for me. One night, a few girls on my floor and I went down to the fire pits. We stayed until the fire shut off at ten o’clock and then migrated to a new friend’s room. We stayed there until early the following day. We did that three nights in a row.
As I developed a bigger group, I felt more and more comfortable. One night, we were watching a movie in Robinson Hall’s second-floor common room when one of our friends mentioned how much he missed Sheetz, a gas station/convenience store chain. One of us jokingly suggested we all squish into a car and drive to one now. We laughed, but 25 minutes later, we found ourselves in Bradford, Pennsylvania, at the 24 hour Sheetz. We stayed there for over an hour, eating, laughing, and talking. It was then that I knew that the people sitting next to me were my community, my home away from home.
During a speech at the Scholars Day for prospective students this past winter, it was said that the least St. Bonaventure University will give you is an education. St. Bonaventure has already blessed me with new ideas, perspectives, and opportunities for growth, but in just two weeks has already given me the most important gift of all; community.